UNIT 2 REVISION GUIDE - Constitution 2. Parliament 3. PM & Executive 4. Relations between the branches - St. George's Catholic School

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UNIT 2 REVISION GUIDE - Constitution 2. Parliament 3. PM & Executive 4. Relations between the branches - St. George's Catholic School
UNIT 2 REVISION
GUIDE
1.   Constitution
2.   Parliament
3.   PM & Executive
4.   Relations between the branches
UNIT 2 REVISION GUIDE - Constitution 2. Parliament 3. PM & Executive 4. Relations between the branches - St. George's Catholic School
1.Constitution revision guide

1.1 Nature and Development of the British Constitution:

How the constitution developed:
 Magna Carta 1215                                           Create principle of rule of law, that everyone
                                                            should be held accountable to law and order
    Bill of Rights 1689                                     Established the sovereignty of Parliament over the
                                                            monarch
    Act of Settlement 1701                                  Established the monarch as the monarch of the
                                                            United Kingdom
    Act of Union 1707                                       Abolished the Scottish Parliament and created the
                                                            British Parliament
    Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949                           Established the supremacy of the House of
                                                            Commons meaning that the Lords could not block
                                                            finance bills and could only delay bills by one year
    European Communities Act 1972                           Brought the UK into the EU- EU law added to
                                                            constitution.
    Notice of Withdrawal Act 2017                           Will bring UK out of the EU

Sources of the British Constitution:
 Statute Law             Act of Parliament that is passed
                          Parliament Acts 1911/1949
                          Scotland Act 1998
 Conventions             Unwritten principles that are accepted as law within the political community
                          Salisbury convention that the HofL cannot block laws that were in winning
                             party’s manifesto
                          Convention of Collective Ministerial Responsibility
 Authoritative works     Works of legal authority that act as guides:
                          Bagehot’s English Constitution of 1867 showed how Executive and Parliament
                             should relate.
                          Gus O’Donnel in 2010 wrote the guide on Coalition forming.
 Common Law              Common law is legal precedence created by judges rulings as opposed to new
                         laws.
                          Many rights of citizen’s exist in this form.
 Treaties                Treaties signed and passed by Parliament are binding:
                          European Communities Act 1972
 Traditions              Actions that have become tradition:
                          Queen opening Parliament with the joint session and Queen’s speech

Nature of the British Constitution

     It is uncodified: The British Constitution is not written down in one formalised document. It is instead
      made up of lots of different laws, conventions etc. This means it can be changed easily.
     It is un-entrenched: The Constitution cannot be entrenched as Parliament is sovereign, so always has
      the power to change it by passing a law.
     It is unitary: All political power resides in one place- Parliament in London. Unlike a federal constitution
      like in the USA which has state laws and federal laws. Parliament is the sole maker of laws, and can
      take back all devolved power if it wants.
UNIT 2 REVISION GUIDE - Constitution 2. Parliament 3. PM & Executive 4. Relations between the branches - St. George's Catholic School
1.2 How the Constitution has changed since 1997
New Labour reforms 1997-2010

 Reform       Description                Successes                         Failures
 Devolution    Scottish parliament       All created via                  It is asymmetric- Scotland
                 created.                   referendum.                        has most power.
               Welsh and N. Irish        Has allowed for laws to be       The elections usually have
                 Assemblies created.        catered to each country.           a low turnout- lower than
               London                    Has made the country                general elections
                 Mayor/Assembly             more democratic.                Scottish Nationalism
                 created                  Kept peace and Union                increased
                                            together.                       No strong governments
                                          Allowed for each region to       Devolution in N.E England
                                            have a different                   rejected in referendum
                                            Coronavirus policy,                2004
                                            allowing for better             Difference in Coronavirus
                                            response.                          policy could be seen as
                                                                               chaotic
 Human           Made the European         Finally means all citizen’s    Parliament is still
 Rights Act       Convention of              rights are written down.          sovereign and can
 1998             Human Rights law          Seeks to entrench citizen’s       overrule it.
                 Made the European          rights
                  Court of Justice the
                  highest court in UK
 Electoral       Devolved systems          All devolved areas are           Turnouts have been low.
 reform           use AMS, STV and           more proportional.               No strong Governments in
 1998             SV                        No wasted votes                   any devolved area.
                                            ETC…                             ETC….
 Reform of       Reduced Hereditary        Has made most lords              Not finished
 House of         Peers to 92. Now it        appointed- so most are           Still unelected
 Lords 1999       is mainly appointed.       now there for being              Still 92 Hereditary peers
                                             experts.                         Still 25 Bishops.
                                            Hereditary Peers now take        Life Peers are too easy to
                                             role more seriously               appoint- 790ish members
                                            Makes Parliament more             means its largest body in
                                             democratic                        world.
 Reform of       Established supreme       Independence of judges           Supreme Court is growing
 Judiciary        court                      reduces power of                  in Political power and
 2005            Separated judiciary        Government.                       could be seen as getting
                  from Government.          JAC was set up to appoint         too powerful.
                 Made the Judiciary         judges rather than               Lord Chancellor can still
                  independent                Government.                       veto appointments
 FOIA 2000       Meant Citizens            Has led to more                  Information can be
                  could make requests        transparency.                     withheld if the
                  to see information        Helped lead to expenses           information is deemed as
                  held by public             scandal- showing                  linked to national
                  bodies                     corruption in Parliament.         security This is
                                            Used often.                       happening more regularly.
                                                                              Sometimes used for trivial
                                                                               questions- like John
                                                                               Prescott’s weight
House of           Established the            Backbench Committee has            DSCs still have a majority
 Commons             Backbench Business          allowed Backbenchers to             for the Government.
 Reform              Committee                   be more organised in               Government still don’t
                    Increased salaries of       passing Private Bills and           have to follow
                     Select Committees.          holding Govt. to account.           recommendations.
                    Introduced system          DSCs have grown in
                     of electing chairs of       importance and
                     Committees                  independence since
                                                 reforms

Coalition reforms 2010-2015
 Reform             Description                  Successes                       Failures
 Fixed Term          Elections happen            Was supposed to                2017- Theresa may
 Parliament 2011       every 5 years                reduce power of Govt.            circumvented law and
                                                    in calling snap elections.       showed it is unlikely to
                                                    Governments have still           actually stop a Govt.
                                                    been able to call both        2019- Uncertainty over
                                                    2017 and 2019                    Brexit would have led to
                                                    elections.                       an election in normal
                                                                                     times, but has created
                                                                                     gridlock instead.
                                                                                  All parties in the 2019
                                                                                     election promised to
                                                                                     repeal it
                                                                                  Gives queen more power
                                                                                     in deciding who to invite
                                                                                     to form Govt.
 Further                After Referendum.          Wales now has more           Unenthusiastic support-
 Devolution to           Wales given power           independent                     Referendum turnout was
 Wales 2014              over raising new            democratic power.               35%
                         forms of tax
 English Votes for      Has sought to solve        Allows English MPs to          Speaker alone has power
 English Laws            West Lothian                vote on English laws-           to declare it an English
 2015                    Question.                   more democratic.                Law- bit unclear.
                        Means English MPs          Used in Jan 2016 on            SNP MPs worried Govt.
                         only can vote on            Housing Bill                    will use to their
                         certain laws.                                               advantage as Tories have
                                                                                     most English MPs.
 Recall of MPs          Gives Constituents         Should give                    Tried to be used on
 act 2015                power to recall or          Constituents more               suspened DUP MP Ian
                         vote out their MP.          power.                          Paisley but failed to get
                        10% petition if MP         Should make MPs more            10% (so close!)
                         has been                    focused on representing        Convoluted process
                         suspended                   their constituents.
                                                    Has now been used
                                                     twice to successfully
                                                     remove MPs-
                                                     Peterborough in
                                                     2019/Breocn and
                                                     Radnorshire 2019
Reforms since 2015
 Reform            Description               Successes                       Failures
 Further            Increased powers-        Satisfied many voices in 2014  SNP and Greens still
 devolution to        Power to set              independence referendum.         demand
 Scotland 2016        income tax, control     Again helps to further spread     independence
                      VAT receipts and          decision making power
                      welfare provision
 Devolution to      Many more areas            Helped to spread decision         Not very popular-
 cities and           now have elected           making power.                      poor turnout in
 regions              mayors like               Has increased the quality of       elections- 29% in
                      Manchester.                representation in areas of         Manchester in 2017.
                    Regions now have            England.                          Little real powers for
                      more control over         Allows bespoke spending for        regions.
                      business rates and         certain areas.
                      in Manchester they        Andy Burnham Machester
                      control their own          Mayor became a popular
                      health budget              figure in aftermath of 2017
                                                 bombings
 Exiting the EU       Britain will be       /                                  /
                       Exiting the
                       European Union.
                      But we don’t know
                       in what way yet

1.3 Role and powers of devolved institutions and their impacts
Key features of Devolution:
     Not Federalism- Power is not permanently given to the areas. Parliamentary law is still supreme.
     It’s asymmetric- Scotland has much more power than any other area.
     It’s entrenched- All changes occurred via referendum. Due to this having popular support it is
       sometimes called Quasi-Federalism as no Govt. will likely take it away.
     Three types:
           o Administrative- Power to determine how services are run (all three have this)
           o Legislative- Power to make primary legislation (Just Scotland and N. Ireland have this)
           o Financial- Power to levy taxes and how to spend it (Scotland have gained this in 2016)
Devolution in England
     Devolution to Cities and creation of Mayors who have control over policing, transport, planning and
       housing.
     Sadiq Khan has significant power over policing and transport- introducing frozen fees and the bus-
       hopper ticket.
Devolution in Scotland
     Has led to the domination of Scottish politics by SNP. They gained an overall majority in 2011 and
       kept a Minority Govt. in 2016.
  The Majority Govt. led to the independence referendum of 2014- which was much closer than
      expected 55-45 voting no. This momentum carried SNP into 2015 general election, winning 56 of 59
      seats.
    This vote led to even more devolution in 2016 act.
    Running out of steam after 2017 election losing many seats- going from 56 to 35.
    In 2018 now has power over income tax, control over receipts of income tax (how to spend money),
      controls half of revenue of VAT.
    Can control much of its own administration- Education for example- free Tuition fees.
Devolution in Wales
    Has grown in power with 63% backing 2011 referendum for more power.
    Dominated by Labour, usually holding half of all seats
    Powers over key administrative areas such as NHS, Education and Environment.
Devolution in N. Ireland
    Established to help solve religious conflict of the troubles- with a power sharing agreement.
      Unionists and Nationalists must both be present in the Govt.
    These forced coalitions are to try and stop a return to conflict.
    N.Ireland can make its own laws to cater to their situation. For example, Abortion is still illegal
      there despite being legal in rest of UK.
    BUT…. Big problem of power sharing in the last year- not having a functioning Govt, since between
      2018 and 2020

Has Devolution been successful?
 Successful                                           Failures
  UK has not broken up- no independence               Scottish Nationalism certainly increased with
    movement has succeeded.                               SNP’s dominance continuing- a second Indy Ref
  Peace has held in N. Ireland with power sharing        looks certain.
    largely being a success.                           Turnouts are often low- (2016- Scot- 55%
  Despite turnout, there are no serious attempts         N.Ire- 55% and Wales- 45%)
    to reverse the change.                             The introduction of PR has ensured that
  Has led to countries successfully changing their       besides SNP in 2011, all Governments are
    own policies/laws:                                    coalitions and therefore indecisive.
        o Scotland has different alcohol laws and      Countries still rely on funding from the UK
            has free tuition fees.                        Govt. Barnett Formula, so are not self-
        o N.Ireland has changed their police force        supporting.
            to respond to troubles.                    N.Ireland power sharing hasn’t worked that
        o Wales has been able to better protect           well! N.Ireland have been without a Govt. since
            it’s agricultural industry                    27th Jan 2018 (reopened in 2020)
        o Coronavirus

1.4 Debates on further reform

How successful have reforms been?

 Successful                                           Failures
 o 2005 Constitutional Reform Act has made an         o FPTP still remains
    independent judiciary that defends citizens’      o House of Lords didn’t go all the way.
    rights.                                           o House of Commons is still quite weak in
 o Devolution has decentralised power and                 comparison to Govt.
    improved local democracy                          o Constitution remains uncodified.
o Human Rights Act has been well entrenched         o Recall of MPs act 2015 is not effective in
   and is largely followed                             increasing accountability
 o Referendums have increased in popularity          o Fixed Term Parliament act has failed.
 o House of Lords has become more legitimate         o
   and more effective.
 o FOI has been entrenched and is well used

Should Devolution be extended?
 Extended                                            Not Extended
 o Extend democracy to local regions will ensure     o Waste of money.
    representation increases and brings Govt.        o Would lead to voter apathy as too many
    closer to communities                               elections- turnout in 2017 mayoral elections all
 o Could ensure local problems are better delat         in 20s.
    with- disconnect between Westminster and         o No signs of demand- 2004 referendum
    North of England.                                   defeated N.England Assembly.
 o Would help to stop difference in living           o Might create further disunity.
    standards between London and rest of
    England.
 o Could improve participation.

Should the UK Constitution be codified?
 Codified                                            Uncodified
 o It would clarify the powers of the executive,        o It is much more flexible, in aftermath of
    with many prerogative powers existing due to           9/11 and increased terror, the UK could
    convention. Would increase checks and                  easily improve the strength of it’s anti-
    balances.                                              terror laws- UK could simply just invent
 o Would help to entrench human rights, with the           rules for how a Coalition was formed in
    HRA being easily overridden if the Govt. want          2010, with Gus O’Donnell’s authoritative
    to.                                                    work. Very flexible for Coronavirus!
 o Would empower the Supreme Court and make             o Allows for a powerful Government- we
    sure the power of Judicial Review could stop           nearly always have a majority Govt. (bar
    Govt.                                                  2010 and 2017) they can act decisively and
 o Would ensure Citizens were aware of the                 pass laws that are needed, for example
    system and how it worked, increasing political         Brown was able to act quickly in 2008
    education and perhaps turnout.                         banking crisis and save banks unlike USA.
 o Would bring UK into line with all modern             o Pragmatically it has served the nation well
    nations.                                               for 100s of years and has naturally evolved
 o Much confusion over Speaker’s role in Brexit            over the years..
    drama of 2019- Precedence has been created          o If it was made codified the unelected
    and overruled over amendment selection and             judges would become more powerful than
    whether they can be another vote on the same           our politicians- anger over 2017 Miller case
    legislation                                            shows how unpopular this would be.
Definitions
2. Parliament Revision Guide
Definitions/Concepts
Parliamentary Government
 Parliament is the highest source of Authority
 All members of the Government must be from parliament.
 We have a fusion of powers. With the Executive also being the Legislative.
Parliamentary Sovereignty-Parliament has ultimate power
 Only Parliament can delegate power.
 Parliament is not bound by any Constitutional rules, but can make them.
 No Parliament can be bound by any previous Parliament, or bind any future Parliament.
 How has Sovereignty been eroded:
       o Government has the real sovereignty being elected to lead and it always has a majority in
          Parliament.
       o Referendums are now always held before big changes, so people have the sovereignty not
          Parliament.
       o Human Rights Act and actions of Supreme Court are now seen to overrule Parliament.
       o Devolution has given power to Scotland, N Ireland, Wales and London.

Structures/Powers
House of Commons Structure
 650 MPs- all selected by local parties and elected in general/by-elections
 Frontbench MPs are Government Ministers/Junior Ministers and then Shadow Ministers/Junior
    Ministers.
 Backbench MPs- those who aren’t front benchers.
 Select Committees- Permanent Committees made up of Backbenchers.
 Legislative Committees- temporary committees made to scrutinise legislation.
 Party whips- Senior MPs who try and force MPs to follow Party line.
 Speaker- elected by MPs, decides agenda and keeps order in the house- John Bercow.
House of Lords Structure
 792 Peers- None are elected.
 Small number of Committees, but unimportant.
 Three types of Peers:
      o Hereditary- Inherit title from family, 92 of them.
      o Life- Appointed for life by Party leaders and Appointments Committee. Selected due to
          expertise or experience
      o Bishops- 26 senior members of the CofE
 Not all Peers have party allegiances- Crossbenchers are neutral and act independently
Functions of House of Commons
 Legitmation- Formally makes the actions of passing laws and making decisions legitimate as the MPs
   act on behalf of the public who have elected them. Representative Democracy…
 Accountability- Hold the Government to account, criticising and scrutinising decisions. Forcing
   Ministers to explain decisions, Committees, PMQs and dismissing a Government through a vote of no
   confidence.
     Scrutiny- Scrutinise laws and make amendments to improve them before passing or rejecting them.
      Legislative committees.
     Constituency work- MPs work in their constituencies listening to their Constituents (in Surgeries) and
      protect their interests.
     Representation of interests- Beyond their constituent’s MPs are expected to represent pressure groups
      and other groups. MPs form cross party groups to help do this- Group against expansion of Heathrow.
     National Debate- Some issues need to be debated in the Commons and have issues properly discussed-
      2017 debate to trigger Article 50, Debates over Withdrawal Agreement and indicative votes 2019.

Functions of House of Lords
 Revising- Lords scrutinise legislation from the Commons and add amendments- many experts make this
   an important function
 Delaying- Lords cannot veto any legislation but can delay and force the Government to reconsider it
   the next year, and add amendments.
 Secondary legislation- Minor regulation within major laws which needs to be improved and Commons
   don’t have time.
 National debate- Like the Commons, they have large debates on big issues- had a 20-hour debate on
   the European withdrawal Bill in 2018

Powers of Commons

Powers of Lords

Limitations on Lords:
 Parliament Acts of 1911 and 1949- Limited power of Lords to delay legislation for only 2 years and then
   1 year. Also means they have no power over financial bills.
 Salisbury Convention- Lords will not block legislation that was in Government’s manifesto if they won a
   clear majority
 Limited Amendments- Amendments must be approved by Commons
 Abolition threat- Lords can be abolished if they do not respect will of Commons.

Comparison of Commons and Lords
 Powers of Commons only              Powers of Both                         Powers of Lords only
 Scrutinise and pass financial bills Debate legislation and vote on         Examine secondary legislation
                                     approvals
 Complete veto of legislation        Proposal of amendments                 Delaying primary legislation for
                                                                            one year
    Can dismiss Government with        Calling Govt. to account and
    vote of no confidence              ministers
    Select Committees examine          Debating key issues
    Government
Final approval of amendments         Private members can introduce
                                      bills

The Legislative Process
 First Reading            MPs are informed about bill, but no debates take place
 Second Reading           Main debate of bill. If passed it moves on
 Committee Stage          Committee consider bill line by line and propose
                          amendments
 Report Stage             Bill is debated again but with amendments
 Third Reading            Final debate and opportunity to black legislation
 Passage to other         Bill passes to Lords/Commons
 House
 Same procedures          Other house examine it in same way, but Lords has no
                          Committee
 Ping Pong                Bounce amendments to one another- until agreement is
                          made
 Royal assent             Queen signs bill into law

Types of legislation:
 Public bills- Presented by Government and usually pass
 Private members bills- Proposed by backbench MPs and rarely pass. Decided by Ballot who can
   propose.
 Private bills- Bills proposed by organisations/individuals outside Parliament and usually allow them
   permission for issues such as building/land use. Usually pass.
Are Parliament effective at legislating?

 Effective                                             Not Effective
 o Lots of opportunity for scrutiny and debate-           o Whipping means MPs are likely to just
     three readings and committee stage, over                 follow party and not be independent
     5,000 amendments in each house each year.                Every single voted for Boris Brexit Deal
 o House of Lords can use expertise to amend                  2020.
     bills- made 4,500 between 2017-2019, 97%             o Process can sometimes be sped up,
     accepted. Made 374 amendments to Health                  meaning there is not enough scrutiny:
     and Social Care Bill in 2012                                  o The Benn Act (Delayign Brexit, by
 o House of Lords can be more independent and                         extending Article 50) passes in 6
     amend legislation/reject it. Lords defeated                      days.
     Govt. 62 times between 2017 and 2019.                         o Terrorist Offenders (restriction of
 o Legislation committees ensure scrutiny,                            early release) bill, stopping Parole
     allowing evidence, NFU for Agriculture bill for                  for terrorists passed in 8 sitting
     examples                                                         days.
 o MPs sometimes ignore Whips when issues are          o Outside pressure can lead to bad laws being
     great- Theresay May’s Brexit Deal was mainly         passed- 1991 Dangerous Dogs Act, 2020
     defeated due to Tory Rebels                          Coronavirus legislation
 o Free votes allow independent scrutiny (Gay          o Fusion of Powers means laws proposed by the
     Marriage/Fox Hunting)                                Government will basically always pass. BoJo
                                                          passed his Brexit Deal easily. T Blair only ever
                                                          lost 4 times.
Backbench Members Roles/Examples:
 Take part in debates and vote and make amendments.
 Scrutinise bills
 Become a member of a select committee
 Join a campaign committee (committee focused on one issue)
 Take part in fact finding missions
 Take part in policy committees for their parties
 Lobby on behalf of an outside cause or interest
 Be active in their constituency
 Karen Buck- Labour MP for Westminster North- Successfully passed her private members bill in 2018-
   Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Bill 2019 to empower tenants
 Mhari Black- SNP MP for Paisley and Renfrewshire South- Member of Work and Pensions select
   Committee. Popular for her speeches
 Oliver Letwin- ex-Tory MP for West Dorset- Leading many amendments to give power to Commons to
   decide Brexit policy- passed his amendment on 25th March 2019

How Effective are Backbenchers:
 Criticisms                                         Defence
 MPs are just lobby fodder and always follow what   Many MPs are every independent- this has been
 the Whips say- Government rarely loses a vote      especially they’re when looking at Brexit bills.
                                                    Amendments for Brexit have been very
                                                    Independent! 30 Tories voted for Letwin
                                                    Amendment, T May lost 33 votes!
 MPs cannot influence frontbench MPs and cannot     Growing power of Committees run by
 influence legislation- Government majority         Backbenchers- Recommendations offer become
 dominates                                          laws
 Debates are often not well attended                MPs work in committees and in constituencies
                                                    instead
 MPs can be seen as corrupt and self serving-       New systems of controlling it and MPs are removed
 expenses scandal of 2009-2010- Pestminster 2017    who broke rules.

Peers Roles/Examples:
 Non-Working Peers- granted the honour of being a Lord, but rarely attending and rarely vote.
 Part Time Politicians- Not attached to a party, attend debates that interest them and they irregularly
   vote (usually hereditary).
 Working Peers- Act as though they are professional politicians. Often members of a party- can be
   members of the front bench. Regularly attend and vote.
 Lord Adonis (former Labour)- Former academic and minister in the New Labour Government. Takes his
   job very seriously, was part of a Government transport body. Regularly gets involved in national
   debates. Very anti-Brexit.
 Lord Dannatt (Crossbencher) Former chief of staff of Army, so get involved in military debates-
   recommended that UK use troops to fight ISIS.
 Key roles:
       o Debate and vote on bills
       o Scrutinise Govt. (more important since 2010)
       o Scrutinise bills using expertise
       o Govt. departments have representatives in the Lords who can be held to account.
       o Also can be members of committees.

 Effective                                           Not Effective
   Many working Peers are as hardworking as             Many Peers are non-working and do not add to
     MPs and perform all their roles seriously- Lord       our democracy.
     Adonis for example.                                  Attendance to debates is low.
    Many Peers have the expertise to properly            Peers cannot actually defy the Government
     scrutinise bills- 4,500 amendments last year          due to Parliament acts and Salisbury
     and 97% are accepted                                  conventions.
    Crossbench MPs ensure that bills can be              Crossbench MPs only focus on particular issues.
     scrutinised and debated without the pressure
     of party politics.
    Are more able to defeat the Government- as
     the Government does not have a majority.

Committees
Select Committees
 Made up of around 10-15 backbenchers.
 Chairs are always elected and earn a higher salary.
 Investigate issues and produce reports/recommendations for the Government, which they have to
    respond to, but don’t have to follow.
Public Accounts Committee
 Oldest and one of most important committees.
 Always led by an opposition member
 Seen as an independent body beyond Parties.
 High media profile- So can publicly hold Government to account.
 Key investigations are in your textbooks.
 New example- Enquiry into cuts to Courts in 2019, and into costs of consultancy firms being hired to
   help in Brexit.
Departmental Select Committees
 Existed since 1979- made stronger by New Labour with salary increase and having chairs elected.
 Look at the work of different departments and holds them to account, writing reports and making
   recommendations.
 Importantly have the power to call all and any witnesses- Rupert Murdoch for phone hacking- Me for
   education maybe!
 Recent examples- 2016 BHS scandal- investigated and told Government how to deal with it. 2016
   report has now led to banning of microbeads.
 The International Development Committee Currently investigating the links between Government and
   Oxfam Scandals.
 European Scrutiny Committee 2019 investigated the way the EU withdrawal bill had been negotiated
   and publicized the problems.
 Home Office Committee published their report on Immigration Detention Centres in March 19

Backbench Committee
 Set up in 2010 to decide the agenda for Parliament at backbench days.
 Allows backbenchers to influence and force the Government to debate or accept changes.
 Main example: The publication of all secret forms on Hillsborough in 2011 came this way- leading to an
   inquest.
Liaison Committee
 A committee of all the chairs of all Select Committees- created in 2002
 PM must appear three times a year, and is questioned in committee form.
 Like a very intense version of PMQs
 BoJo met first Liaison Committee during lockdown- Roasted over Cummings issue.
How successful are committees?
 Successful                                            Not successful
  Recommendations/Reports/Investigations are           Government always have a majority in
    well publicised by the Media, so publically hold      Departmental Select Committees- so may not
    the Government to account. David Davis had to         be held to account properly.
    admit he hadn’t finished Brexit reports in          Committees have no power to make
    Committee. 2020 used to investigate impact of         Governments follow recommendations- only
    Coronavirus                                           expecting a reply after 2 months.
  Committees are very independent and are able         Committees cannot have an input in a bill
    to act above party politics- Chairs are elected       before it is introduced in the chamber.
    and Head of PAC is always from the opposition       Ministers are always well prepared before
  Liaison Committee is a more serious and formal         making statements to committees.
    way to hold PM to account compared to PMQs.         Only 40% of recommendations accepted
  Committees now have a deterrent effect, by             according to UCL Constitution group
    stopping Government from cutting corners in         BoJo has yet to attend a Liaison Committee
    fear of being held to account.                        meeting (March 2020- only attended one in
  Committees reports are well researched and             May 2020)
    can lead to good laws being passed-
    Microbeads were banned in Jan 2018 due to
    the

Holding Government to account
The Opposition
 Difference between ‘opposition’ which are all MPs not in the Governing party and the ‘Official
   Oppositon’ which are the second largest party in Parliament. Labour and Jeremy Corbyn are the official
   opposition today.
 Official Opposition is a constitutional role:
       o Leader receives the equivalent of a minster’s salary
       o Leader takes part in all ceremonies
       o Leader has most questions at PMQs
       o Opposition have control over Parliament agenda for 20 days- known as Opposition days.
 Functions of Opposition:
       o To act as ‘Government in Waiting’. Must be ready to fight next election and take over if the
           Government falls- Shadow Cabinet would take over Government roles.
       o Call Government to account and ask questions of Ministers.
       o Defend interests of sections of society ignored by Government. Labour represent workers and
           Green represent environmental issues and National parties (SNP, PC, DUP) represent their
           national interests.
       o Ceremonial functions- attends parades etc.
       o Opposition help to organise Parliament’s agenda- around 20 opposition days a year.
Select Committees have now taken over from the opposition as the main way in which Govt. is called to
account’ How far do you agree?

 Agree                                                     Disagree
  The opposition may use opportunities to hold             Government always have a majority in
    the Government to account as media events.                 Departmental Select Committees- so may not
    Jeremy Corbyn for example used the PMQs                    be held to account properly.
    before the 2018 local elections to promote his          The opposition do well to hold the Government
    own platform                                               to power publicly- news programmers etc. will
  Select Committees have grown in                             invite a Labour MP to discuss a Tory failure.
    independence and importance through                     The Opposition have huge resources to hold
    elections of chairs and increased salary.                  the Government to account- using short
  The Govt. must respond to SC reports- banning               money.
    microbeads in 2018 for example.                         Through elections and by-elections the
  Select Committees focus on one department,                  Opposition can hold the Government to
    so can be more forensic in their criticism.                account by beating them.
    Jeremy Hunt chair of the Health Committee is            Starmer has reinvigorated opposition with
    the ex-Health Secretary and can scrutinize                 PMQs and big public stances- Schools
    more clearly.                                              reopening, track and trace etc.
  Select Committees aren’t trying to get elected-
    focus on holding to account instead.

Ways to hold Ministers to account
 Question to Ministers days- Ministers have to take the floor and respond to written questions by the
  Commons, with particular pressure from the opposite Shadow member.
 Select Committees- Ministers can be questioned in Select Committees with sometimes hostile and very
  public results. Usually very formal and therefore effective.
 PMQs- Once a week when parliament is sitting on Wednesdays at 12:30 Prime Minister is questioned.
  But has become a highly sensationalised event, with MPs going for soundbites not holding Government
  to account properly

Potential reforms
House of Lords
 All-Appointed                               All-Elected                             Part-Elected and Part
                                                                                     Appointed
    People with special experience/            More democratic.                     Could enjoy both
     expertise could be recruited.              If elected by PR would stop            benefits
    Can ensure that it is not exactly the       Government having too much           Would increase
     same as commons, allowing for               power.                                 legitimacy but keep
     better checks on the Governments           Makes chamber more                     expertise
     control                                     accountable.                         Would be most
    No need for re-election/selection          Would allow chamber to be              acceptable to peers
     means members will be                       more powerful.                         and MPs
     independent.

House of Commons
    Reduce size to 600 to make Constituencies more balanced in size
    Give DSCs power to look at legislation before it is debated in the chamber and use expertise.
    More opportunity to debate secondary legislation like Lords.
    Change electoral system to PR.
ow successful is Parliament at fulfilling its roles?
 Role            Positives                                  Negatives
 Holding          Select Committees have grown in           MPs lack expertise to properly investigate
 Government         power and independence. Publically         and hold Government to account.
 to account         holding Govt. to account.                PMQs is largely a media event without
                  Ministers still must face questions in      proper scrutiny.
                    both houses.                             Departmental Select Committees have a
                  PMQs occurs every week- supported           Government majority.
                    by Liaison Committees- March 2020        Govt. often well prepared for events
                    JC focused on Patel bullying claims.
 Provide          MPs are all elected by popular              House of Lords is not elected.
 Legitimacy         consent.                                   Parliament elections are not proportional.
                  Recent election turnout of 67%
                    shows how legitimate decisions are.
 Scrutinise       House of Lords has experts who can          Commons is whipped meaning MPs and
 Legislation        scrutinize bills and offer expert           Committees are likely to follow Party and
                    amendments- 4,500 last year                 not analyse independently (BoJo has only
                  Legislation committees forensically          lost one vote in 2020)
                    analyse bills and offer amendments.        Not given much time to scrutinise and
                                                                debate.
                                                               Nodding through legislation does happen.
 Control           With a minority Government this            Power of Whips is still strong, so rebellions
 Government         ability is much increased.                  against the Government are unlikely- Blair
 power             Committees/Questions/Debates                lost 4, Brown 3, BoJo 1 so far!
                    allow for this.                            When Opposition is divided this is very
                   Opposition are now more united in           difficult.
                    opposing Government.                       Fusion of powers means Govt. should
                   No Government majority in the               always have a clear majority
                    Lords                                      Crisis of Coronavirus led to near zero
                   Brexit has decreased Whip power,            accountability.
                    with some Ministers abstaining
                    rather than following whips T May
                    faced largest ever defeat in 2019
 Represent         MPs dedicate days to their                 House of Lords do not have constituents.
 Constituents       constituencies, running surgeries to       Varies MP to MP (many MPs are not local
                    listen to complains and represent           to their area)
                    those views In Parliament.                 Recall of MPs Act is not strong enough- so
                   Respond to emails/letters/social            no system to remove MP
                    media.                                     Whips can influence them more.
 Representing      MPs represent constituencies from          Elections are not proportional so
 nation as a        all over the UK of roughly the same         Commons does not represent actual
 whole              size.                                       support (Lib Dems for example)
                   2019 Parliament is most                    29% of MPs are Privately educated, but
                    representative of the country- with         only 7% are in UK. Still not 50% of women.
                    record numbers of Women, LGBTQ,             Too few (5%) from manual occupations.
                    Ethnic minorities and State educated       House of Lords less representative, 26%
                    members.                                    women and only 6% Ethnic, also average
                   Lords seek to represent those               age is 69.
                    minority voices in our country
3.The Prime Minister and Executive

3.1 The Structure, role and powers of the Executive

Structure

Functions of Government

PM- Powers and Roles
 Prime Minister is the leader of the Government and as the Government acts on behalf of Queen. The
  PM has royal prerogative powers- Appointing Government, Foreign Policy, Commander in Chief and
  negotiating treaties.
      o Complete power of patronage- so can appoint/dismiss all ministers and who is in the cabinet.
         Has a say in senior Civil Servants as well. Reshuffle- when PM changes who is in roles.
      o Negotiates treaties (but needs approval of Pmt)
      o Commander in chief of armed forces
      o Heads and chairs cabinet deciding agendas and focus
      o Sets the general tone and aims of an executive.
      o Leader of their party and can claim popular authority

Cabinet- Powers and Roles
 Cabinet is made up of roughly 20-25 of the most important Government ministers.
 They all meet in cabinet meetings and decide Government policy ‘collectively’. Usually meet once a
   week. All members must be an MP or Peer.
 Power and importance depended on the PM- Thatcher dominated, Major didn’t.
      o In emergency situations, PM may turn to cabinet to make decisions and inform them of actions-
          Blair in 2003 before Iraq, Thatcher before Falklands 1982- COBRA
      o Discuss policy before it is presented to ensure they present a united front and support each
          other- Long meetings over Brexit in 2019, over CoronaVirus 2020
o To settle disputes between Government departments- usually to do with budgets. Currently,
           massive discussions over Brexit and what they will pursue.
       o Decide the legislative agenda and how they will ensure it’s passage through parliament
       o Much work is done in Cabinet Committees- A subcommittee of a small group of ministers to
           discuss details policies and then present to Cabinet.
Role and type of Ministers
 Secretary of State- Senior minister who runs entire department and is usually a member of Cabinet-
   Damian Hinds Secretary of State for Education
 Minister of State- More junior minister who will run a sub section of a department- for example- Nick
   Gibb is Minister for Schools within the Department of Education.
 Parliamentary under-secretary of state- A very junior minister who runs a specialised section of the
   department- Lord Agnew is under-secretary of state for School System.
 Parliamentary Private Secretary- Lowest possible level, an unpaid position acting as a link between
   ministers
 Roles:
       o Develop policies in their area of responsibility- Michael Gove is pushing for a ban on plastic cups
           as Environment minister.
       o Develop a budget and how money will be spent within department
       o Draft legislation.
       o Organise the passage of legislation (talk to whips/backbenchers)
       o Appear regularly in parliament for Minister’s questions and present to select committees.
       o Make key decisions for Department
       o Appear in media to defend Govt. or Dept.

Treasury and the Budget
 Treasury has most important role in Govt. as it has to propose the annual budget:
       o Treasury prepares the budget by negotiating with ministers and deciding how much each Dept.
          will get.
       o Treasury needs to make sure the allocated funds can all be raised and if so what taxes will be
          introduced/reduced and what borrowing the Govt. needs to do and if cuts need to be made.
       o The budget then needs to be approved in Cabinet.
       o The budget will then be presented to the Commons.

3.2 The concept of ministerial responsibility

Individual Ministerial Responsibility
 It is a convention that Ministers follow a certain number of rules, these have been codified since 1992,
    with most recent in 2016. If they break them, they are expected to resign:
       o If the policies and decisions of their departments, are deemed unsatisfactory.
       o If ministers makes a serious error of judgement.
       o If a minister’s department makes an error, even if the minister is not involved.
       o If their personal conduct falls below expected standard.
 BUT… Limitations on how far it is followed:
       o It is up to Prime Minister to make them resign.. No formal process for Parliament/Public to
           cause it.
       o Ministers are more likely to try and weather the storm, and can blame lower members instead.
Examples of resignations:
     Michael Fallon resigned as Defence Minister on Nov. 1st 2017. This was due to details of previous
       sexual harassment/misconduct being picked up in the newspapers. Pestminster Scandal!
     Priti Patel resigned as International Development Minister on Nov 8th 2017. This was due to having
       secret meetings with the Israeli Government while on ‘holiday’, she even discussed using her aid
       budget to support Israeli military- PM did not know! This was more of a push.
   Damian Green resigned as First Secretary of State on Dec. 20th 2017. This was after revelations that
       a 2008 Investigation found Porn on his work computer, and complaints of sexual harassment. He
       was a big ally to May, but had to go after pressure mounted.
      Amber Rudd- Resigned as Home Secretary in April 30th for misleading Parliament over the
       Windrush Scandal (but already back in by Nov as Work and Pensions Secretary)
      Gavin Williamson forced to resign May 1st 2019 after leaking the decision to allow Huawei to run
       our 5G- broke code of not leaking official decisions.

Examples of staying despite problems:
     Boris Johnson, who as Foreign Secretary in Nov 2017 mishandled the Zagari-Ratcliffe case. Meaning
        she may be in Iranian prison for longer. However, despite pressure, no resignation.
     Chris Grayling, who as Transport Secretary gave a £14 million pound contract to a firm to provide
        ferry services in case of a No-Deal Brexit…. They had never run a ferry service before. Uk
        Government was sued by Eurostar due to contracts and won! Winning £33 Million.. Grayling did not
        resign
     Priti Patel, who as Home Secretary in Feb/Mar 2020 was accused of bullying and had several staff
        members resign. Was backed by BoJo and did not have to resign.
     Robert Jentrick, who as Housing Secretary has been seen to give special services to millionaire
        Richard Desmond, approving his housing project and accepting large donation! May-June 2020.
        BoJo has backed him
Collective Ministerial Responsibility
     An unwritten convention that means ministers are all collectively responsible for Government
        policies, so have to publicly support and not leak any Government policies. Due to the nature of
        Cabinet, any disagreements should be sorted out before policies are made.
     They may resign/be fired:
     If they disagree with Governmental policy, so cannot publicly support it (Iraq War in 2003 for
        example)
     If they disagree with the PM they will resign (Geoffrey Howe’s resignation in 1990- basically caused
        Thatcher to resign)
     If they publically criticise the Government or independently discuss how they want policy to differ.
     Leak Government details.
     Brexit makes this much harder as many ministers have different opinions-. Again, this is only
        convention- depending on how powerful PM is to enforce it.
     Looks to be easier under unified Leave Cabinet of BoJo
Examples of resignations:
     David Davis and Boris Johnson- Both resigned in protest of the proposed Chequers deal to leave
        the EU in June 2018
     Dominic Raab and Esther Mcvey- Resigned as Brexit Secretary and WP Secretary due to disagreeing
        with the withdrawal agreement in Nov 2018
     Tracey Couch- Resigned as Sports Minister in protest at delay to limiting Fixed Odd Betting
        Machines in Nov 2018
     Amber Rudd- Resigned as Work and Pensions Minister in September 2019 due to disagreeing with
        decision to Prorogue Parliament
     Jo Johnson- Resigned as Universities minister in November 2019, disagreeing with Boris Johnson’s
        Brexit deal.
Examples of staying
     In 2017-2018, Boris Johnson has written several articles for the telegraph where he disagrees with
        Government policy and suggests a different way of doing Brexit. Yet…. He was not called on to
        resign
     Remainer Ministers Amber Rudd and David Gauke abstained on a whipped motion on not ruling out
        a No-Deal Brexit. They did not resign and were not fired
Importance:
    Maintains image of a united Government
    Allows PM to have control over ministers
    Stops Ministers from being disruptive/negative
    Guarantees a number of votes for Govt. Legislation, known as the ‘payroll vote’, as they are on the
      Govt. Payroll.

BUTTT… Brexit has broken the system with masses of resignation and ministers being willing to leave to
follow conscious or support constituents. BUTTT.. Now fixed under unified Leave BoJo leadership?

 Positives                                            Negatives
 • Creates a strong United Government that can        • Too much power in the hands of PM? Can decide
    pass laws and make foreign agreements.               who needs to resign.
 • Means there is clear Government policy for the     • Ministers cannot be honest in public about policy-
    public Parliament and Media to understand.           disingenuous and may stop debate.
 • Means all disagreements are in private, so         • Resignations can cause Governments to fall-
    ministers can have full robust debates,              Geoffrey Howe in 1990 and Thatcher. May was
                                                         pushed out in 2019 by threat of mass resignation

3.3 The Prime Minister and the Cabinet

Source of PM’s authority
 Traditional- PM has all of the prerogative authority of the Queen who delegates it to them.
 Party- PM is usually the leader of the largest Party in Parliament- when a party leader is replaced they
   naturally become the next PM. Theresa May replaced David Cameron as party leader and therefore
   became PM.
 Parliament- They have the power to dismiss the Govt. and therefore the PM. This means they have the
   support and authority of the body.
 The People- Although not directly elected, all voters are aware of who will become PM if the party they
   vote for wins. Most of the campaigning is done by the Party leader.

Source’ of PM’s Power
 Prerogative Powers- The PM has all of the former monarch’s powers to represent the nation.
 Party- By being leader of Party they have power to direct their policies and direction.
 Patronage- The leader is in control of who becomes part of the Government, and as such they can also
   control who is fired. This gives them great power over their party and the Government.
 Parliament- The PM relies on the support of their majority in the House and they ensure that PM’s can
   pass their legislation and retain confidence of House.
 Collective Cabinet Responsibility- Ensure the Cabinet all support the Government, or have to resign

Powers of the PM
 Formal                                               Informal
  Patronage                                           Controlling Govt. Policy
  Chair Cabinet meetings                              Controlling legislative agenda
  Foreign policy leader                               Economic leadership
  Commander in chief*                                 Speak on behalf of crisis during leadership
  Can call elections (no longer due to 2011 fixed
    term, but they still can with agreement)          Depends on power/majority
Commander in Chief*- Since 2003 invasion of Iraq, there has been a convention of voting on use of armed
forces in Parliament. This was seen in 2013 where David Cameron lost vote on bombing Syria. This was the
first ever foreign policy vote lost by a PM. He also won a vote to bomb ISIS in 2015.

Powers of Cabinet
 Debate and have final say on Govt. Policy and legislative agenda.
 Cannot officially remove PM, but can force them out through public criticism (’07 Blair) or forcing a
   leadership contest (’90 Thatcher)
 Can overrule a PM- May had to ditch much of her 2017 manifesto to appease her cabinet.

Criteria for selecting Cabinet
 Needs allies- Thatcher filled her Cabinet of Dries in 1982, Blair made sure to have his followers
    dominate in 1997.
 Needs to make sure it is balanced between factions- May has to make sure that Remainers and
    Brexiteers are equal
 Needs best people for job-Up and coming MPs will be selected if they impress as junior ministers- Matt
    Hancock was promoted in 2018 to Cabinet having impressed as a Minister
 Needs to be socially representative-Blair famously tried to fill his Cabinet with women- Blair Babes.
    Had only been 10 Female Cabinet members until 1997!
 Needs to neutralise opposition- As LBJ said you want them in the tent pissing out, not out the tent
    pissing in. This can be seen with May ensuring Boris Johnson is Foreign Secretary.
Famous reshuffles
 Harold Macmillan in 1962 removed a 1/3rd of his cabinet, wanting to make it younger and help the
    Tories in the polls. The ruthlessness led to it being called the ‘night of the long knives’ and he lost
    support.
 Tony Blair in 2006, prompted by poor local election results, had a massive reshuffle.
 Theresa May in 2016 after becoming leader made wholesale changes to make sure her Govt. was
    different to David Cameron’s. She fired/reshuffled many key Cameroonians- George Osborne sacked as
    Chancellor and made sure there was a equal split of Brexiteers and Remainers.
 Theresa May in 2018, believing she had regained her strength after the disastrous 2017.. But…
    misannounced and many ministers simply refused to be moved- Justine Greening resigned and Jeremy
    Hunt got promoted! Showed her weakness.
 Boris Johnson in 2019 after large win in Tory Leadership Contest of July 2019, brought in many Leavers
    and allies (Sajid Javid and Priti Patel). Lots of Remainer MPs resigned before he had a chance to fire
    them (Phillip Hammond)
 Boris Johnson in 2020 after a huge win in GE 2019, had authority to reshuffle, removing ministers who
    may have opposed a no deal in December 2020 as well as settling old scores (removing Andrea
    Leadsom). However, Chancellor Javid resigned rather than letting BoJo fire his staff. Replaced with ally
    Rishi Sunak who agreed to share staff with PM, allowing PM more power over financial policy.

Historical trends in Cabinet-PM relationships
 Up to the 1960s, PM was seen as first among equals with most decisions being made collectively, not
    dictated by PM.
 1960s to 2010s seen as era of Prime Ministerial Govt.:
        o Harold Wilson (PM 1964-70 and 74-76) first began to manipulate meetings by agreeinf policies
            beforehand in bilateral meetings.
        o Margaret Thatcher (PM 1979-1990) dominated cabinet through personality and bullying style.
            Would also remove any opposition ruthlessly.
        o Tony Blair (PM 1997-2007) rather circumvented Cabinet by making decisions via his informal
            Sofa Politics instead.
 Coalition Govt. of 2010-2015 was supposed to bring Cabinet Govt. back:
o   David Cameron had to rely on Nick Clegg and 5 other Lib Dem Cabinet members.
          o   This reduced his power of Patronage.
          o   Cabinet was forum for Coalition partners to iron out disputes
          o   BUT.. Cameron created the ‘Quad’ made up of himself, Chancellor George Osborne, Deputy PM
              Nick Clegg and Danny Alexander. The top two of the Lib Dems and Tory, in order to make
              decisions before meetings.
     Governing with small or no majorities- 2015-2019 May and Cameron had to give over more power to
      their cabinet, as they relied much more on them. This can especially be seen with May who had a
      disastrous reshuffle in 2018.
     Boris Johnson 2020- BoJo has had huge control over Cabinet as seen in Reshuffles, but also able to
      increase power through use of personal staff- Dominic Cummings is his SPAD. Also controls staff of
      other Cabinet members reducing independence. Cummings not being fired after breaking lockdown,
      shows his power. BoJo also seeks to change Civil Service and make them less neutral and more Brexity.

Can the PM dominate Cabinet?

    Agree                                                 Disagree
    PM has power of Patronage and can hire/fire to        Cabinet can ultimately remove the PM- with Blair
    ensure they can dominate. May in 2016 removed         being removed in 2007 due to public criticism and
    all key Cameron allies. Thatcher in the 1980s would   Thatcher being removed in 1990 due to losing
    remove all Wets. Johnson in 2020 solidified control   confidence of them and being forced into
    over staff and Brexit                                 leadership contest. May being removed in 2019.
    The PM has grown a huge personal staff in recent      Cabinet may contain powerful ministers who can
    years. With the creation of the Policy Unit in 1974   overrule PM. This can be seen with the power of
    and Tony Blair establishing the PM’s strategy unit    Chancellor Gordon Brown 1997-2007 to make
    in 2002 and delivery unit in 2001. These bodies       economic policy and dictate policy via spending.
    allowed PM to control Govt. policy, with staff        Removal of Javid in 2020 was to avoid this.
    answering to them.
    The PM can use collective security to stop            If the Party is divided the Cabinet becomes much
    criticism, with May successfully neutralising Boris   harder to control with Theresa May needing to
    Johnson in 2017.                                      balance between Brexiteers and Remainers. Her
                                                          Brexit policy has been difficult due to this.
    The PM can bypass Cabinet by making decisions         Cabinet members can disagree with aims of PM-
    separately/before. Blair used ‘Sofa Politics.         The Bastards overruled John Major on several
    Cameron had the ‘Quad’ and May used her Special       occasions. Theresa May had difficulty getting
    Advisors of Fiona May and Nick Timothy. Johnson       Cabinet agreement over Brexit- Remain vs Leave
    uses Dominic Cummings.
    The PM has great personal power and legitimacy        The PM cannot always use the power of patronage
    so can force through decisions in meetings. Blair     properly due to weakness. Theresa May’s failed
    had a majority of 179 in 1997, so had personal        reshuffle in 2018, led to Justine Greening resigning
    authority to dominate Cabinet/                        rather than being moved, and Jeremy Hunt being
                                                          promoted rather than moved. 2020, Javid resigning
                                                          instead of changing Staff,

3.4 Case Studies

Margaret Thatcher – 1979-1990
Conditions and Events
    Elected after Winter of Discontent with majority of 43 in 1979
    Was very unpopular, but gained massively from the victory in 1982 Falklands War  Iron Lady!
 Had a majority of 144 in 1983
    Kept a majority of 102 in 1987.
    Always had a good majority- so had to focus on controlling party, in order to keep power.
    Ultimately lost power due to unpopularity of Poll Tax and loss of Cabinet support.
Relationship with Cabinet
    Between 1979 and 1982, as Thatcher was new and not as powerful she was more collective.
    After the Falklands, Thatcher commands Cabinet and fills it with ‘dries’.
    Famously bullied her cabinet members to agree. As seen in these two Spitting Image clips
    BUT… ultimately it is Cabinet, led by Geoffrey Howe who move against her after unpopularity of
        Poll Tax and her bullying style
    Knowing she lost support... She resigns.
Ability to control policy
    Thatcher had her own ideology named after her- Thatcherism.
    Her Right Wing ideals defeated the ‘Dries’ and after 1982 she achieved lots of what she wanted:
            o Trade Union laws
            o Privatisation
            o Cutting taxes
    But ultimately, her want of the Poll Tax pushed her cabinet and party too far. And rather than stop
        the policy, she pressed on, causing downfall.

Tony Blair- 1997-2007
Conditions and Events
    He won the largest landslide in recent history in 1997- 179 seat majority.
    Maintained this in 2001- 167 seats
    Even after Iraq War- 66 seat majority in 2005.
    Lost popularity in aftermath of Iraq War as it was clear it was failing, and began to be attacked by
        Brownites.
    Resigns in 2007 for Gordon Brown to take over, after public criticism and fall in polls.
Relationship with Cabinet
    Blair had huge personal power due to election.
    He radically changed the Downing Street set up:
    Created the PM Delivery Unit in 2001- giving him more control of Dept. Policy.
    Had a powerful press secretary Alastair Campbell who would control flow of information.
    Used ‘Sofa Politics’ to decide policy before Cabinet meetings, meaning little actual discussion was
        done
    Jack Straw said meetings were about how to present policies, not to decide them.
Ability to control policy
    Blair and his New Labour ideas dominated it’s time in Govt:
            o Maintaining low taxes
            o Minimum wage
            o Constitutional reform
            o Active Foreign Policy.
    But Gordon Brown was the most powerful Chancellor we have ever seen, and by controlling money
        was able to frustrate Blair and control policy by cutting/spending.
    He wouldn't’t even tell Blair the budget before he announced it! Usually only 24 hours before.

David Cameron 2010-2016
Conditions and Events
    Cameron becomes the largest party in the 2010 election, but did not win a majority, so joined a
       Coalition with Lib Dems. Giving him a majority of 38.
    Coalition meant Cameron had to listen to Deputy PM Nick Clegg and couldn’t act independently.
    Wins 2015 election with a majority of 4 seats (12 seats working majority)- can act more
        independently, but needs support of whole party
    However, slowly loses power due to splits over Europe, and ultimately resigns after losing the Brexit
        referendum.
Relationship with Cabinet
    Cameron lost his power of full patronage, it was agreed that certain positions had to be held by Lib
        Dems (5 positions).
    Cameron was not able to reshuffle without asking Clegg.
    BUT…Cameron had a very close relationship with chancellor George Osborne, so had good support.
    Cameron was also able to avoid cabinet by making decisions in the ‘Quad’ made up of him, George
        Osborne, Nick Clegg and Danny Alexander. Easy to make decisions there, as long as he got Lib Dems
        on board.
Ability to control policy
    TFor 5 years, Cameron was stuck in his Coalition meaning his policies and ideas needed approval
        from Lib Dems. Despite this he was still able to:
            o Have policies of Austerity- Student Fees!
            o Pass gay marriage
            o Cut taxes
            o Could still control Foreign Policy- EU Veto
    Although he had to accept Lib Dem ideas:
            o Increasing tax allowance for low paid
            o AV referendum.
    Small majority also meant lost votes- Syria 2013
    Also due to coalition, Cameron allowed Ministers to run their depts. Very independently- Michael
        Gove achieved much in Education without Cameron’s overview.

Theresa May 2016-2019
Conditions and Events
    May takes over Tory Leadership and therefore Premiership without a vote…. All her rivals back out
       due to blunders.
    She has supreme power at this point in party despite small majority.
    BUT…. Massive loss of power after the 2017 election. Calls for her to resign, as her majority was
       reduced to zero.
    Brexit is also a nightmare- so reduced power to do other things.
    Things have gotten much worse in 2018 over Brexit, mass resignations over the Chequers deal in
       July, mass resignations in November over the withdrawal agreement.
    December 12th the 48 letters were received, leading to a vote of confidence. She won the cote 200-
       117.
    Has already lost 22 votes since the 2017 election- more than one a month!
    Biggest loss ever! 230 votes in Jan 2019 over withdrawal deal.
    Promised to stand down after continued criticism of her Brexit deal and unpopularity in comparison
       to Brexit Party
Relationship with Cabinet
Pre-Election-
     Very much so, has a huge reshuffle in 2016- removes key Cameron allies like George Osborne and
        Nicky Morgan. Fills with allies and makes a clear balance of Brexit/Remain.
     Neutralises threat of Boris Johnson by putting him in Foreign Office.
     Clear allies of Damian Green and Gavin Williamson.
Post-Election-
    Not at all… she planned a post election reshuffle that she needed to cancel- Rumours that Phillip
       Hammond and David Davis would have lost job. She keeps everyone…
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